Michigan wants to bring driver's education back to public schools
(CBS DETROIT) - "About $800 per child by the time you do the first segment, the second segment," says Angela Moody, a Hartland mother who shares what she's paid for her four children to complete driver's training.
"It outprices a lot of us. It's not a given anymore, it's a commitment," she tells CBS News Detroit.
The Michigan Secretary of State and Michigan Education Association are looking to increase accessibility through grants that would help offset expenses related to public schools becoming a driving education provider.
"Even though I own a private school, I do think it's a good plan because we want access for everybody to have driver's training," says Martin O'Neill, co-owner of Elite Driving School in St. Clair Shores.
He says a plan for accessibility to all is great if schools are willing to have certified staff and properly trained instructors to teach their students. He says he understands that times have changed since he received his driver's license and that the cost of insurance, vehicles, and everything in between has risen.
He also says an overall interest in people under the age of 18 to get behind the wheel has also gone down.
"My biggest practice lessons are 18-25-year-olds. Why? Because it is cost-prohibitive for some, I think. Some kids right now just don't want to get their license. It doesn't hold the appeal it did for people who are older, and we loved cars. Kids are really not that interested in cars anymore," O'Neill says.